FSA Ceramic Pulley's

[Ahneida Ride]

Does any of our Phorumnites have any experience with this aftermarket upgrade?

FSA Ceramic Pulleys (http://biketiresdirect.com/productdetail.asp?p=FSCCP&tn=0)


http://biketiresdirect.com/Images400x267/FSCCP-1.jpg

Thanks in advance ...

Ahneida

Ps. Campy Record Pulleys have no bearings, this makes no sense. :confused:

[Marnocha]

Have them installed and they look real nice. I can tell no difference in operation

[swoop]

i gave mine away to a kid at the bike shop. i found they dont track as well as the stock pulleys and had a subtle but negative impact upon shifting. i did get second on my first race with them.. but, that wasn't enough to justify the loss of shfting crispness.

if you're going to invest in ceramic just do your wheels and cranks.

atmo.

[hypnos]

Campy uses bushings, not bearings. I heard that switching out my Campy pulleys for the FSA ceramic will increase my average speed by 5-10 mph. :rolleyes: What do you all think?

[bigbill]

Campy uses bushings, not bearings. I heard that switching out my Campy pulleys for the FSA ceramic will increase my average speed by 5-10 mph. :rolleyes: What do you all think?

Only if you shave your arms and wear Assos shorts.

[davids]

Campy uses bushings, not bearings. I heard that switching out my Campy pulleys for the FSA ceramic will increase my average speed by 5-10 mph. :rolleyes: What do you all think?
I heard the increase was between 6-11 mph. And they've been marked down from $150 to $119.95!

I'm getting two sets.

[hypnos]

Only if you shave your arms and wear Assos shorts.

Dude!!!! No way I'm shaving the arms. Oh well..... I'll have to stay in the B-group.

[Too Tall]

Ps. Campy Record Pulleys have no bearings, this makes no sense. :confused:[/QUOTE]


Yup, same deal with Shimano....they must be lunchin' ;)

All kidding aside, the bronze bearing / ceramic bushing dealio is a fabulous design and any friction in that mech is soooo overwhelmed by others it should be a low(er) order of concern...just my observation. Keep your hand on le wallet bro. :cool:

[swoop]

also... as much as a like to support fsa.. the pulleys leave a little to be desired in terms of finish. if you must do the ceramic pulley thing.. i'd go for another brand.

but i swear by my original post.

[Ahneida Ride]

Campy uses bushings, not bearings. I heard that switching out my Campy pulleys for the FSA ceramic will increase my average speed by 5-10 mph. :rolleyes: What do you all think?


Hypnos
One can't exceed the speed of light. You are there already !

My fellow Phorumites .....
And now my confession .... I already ordered em last week :confused: :no: :butt: :crap: :eek: :(

I'll install em anyway ... and see ....

Now what is my penance for not checking here first ?

[Too Tall]

Geeze as if any of us hasn't caved for neato shiny bits...it makes us happy.

Group Hug ;)

[swoop]

Hypnos
One can't exceed the speed of light. You are there already !

My fellow Phorumites .....
And now my confession .... I already ordered em last week :confused: :no: :butt: :crap: :eek: :(

I'll install em anyway ... and see ....

Now what is my penance for not checking here first ?

oh its all good.... its just a pulley. the bushings in the campy allow for some lateral movement that you don't get from bearings... and this lateral movement helps the shifting a tiny bit.

having had time on a few different brands... i think that the fsa's were suprisingly not as well made as some of the others.. although the bearings in the fsa's might be higher quality. you'll see when you have to put the right bushing in over the bearing... you'll know right then what i'm talking about.

since you invested.. just install and enjoy. they make a different sound... so youll always have that going for you.
for me... the minimal loss in shifting quality wasn't worth the cool sound (the bike i'm on has a short stay and tight chainline.. so anything that hindered the chainline wasn't working for me. in this case.. play is good).
atmo.

[Ahneida Ride]

Thanks all ...

I have longer chainstays and a Long Cage Record RD.
Maybe is this case, less play is good. we'll see ...

Thanks T**2 and Swoop

[pdxmech13]

like swoop mentioned above. the upper pulley needs to "float" for proper gear changing. seems pretty foolish and most all gimicky.

[Ahneida Ride]

like swoop mentioned above. the upper pulley needs to "float" for proper gear changing. seems pretty foolish and most all gimicky.

PDX

Could you elaborate on what you mean by "float" for the upper pulley ...

I am getting the impression these are not cake to install.
Is the top pulley different from the bottom?

I must use the Blue ones for Campy right ?

[swoop]

yes, blue is fsa's campy. there is a bottom and a top.. its not hard because it says it on the pulley.. you'll have to snap off some bushings from an enclosed plastic tree too.
installation is straightforward.
there is lateral play, by design, in the top pulley. none of the pulleys with bearings offer this.. yet it is designed into the jockey by campy.
having a little play helps the chain track over the pulley where tracks into the cogs. for me, it affected shifting... most notably into the 11 cog.
as i said its subtle, but stuff like this is like a pea under a matress for me.

without sounding like an a88.. the little bit of 'pro' advice i was offered regarding ceramics was.. wheels and bb. so, if you're gonna spend, do wheels first.

hope that helps.... like i said.. i gave mine away. you might enjoy the novelty of it...

[Avispa]

Hey Ahneida,

I switched my pulleys with Ceramic Speed's... No problem at all. I was amazed at the difference I saw when spinning with my fingers, the Campy pulleys vs the Ceramic Speed. The Campy pulleys spun only one or two times but the CS kept on rolling about 5 or 6 times!!!

As far as the shifting goes, I have had no problem with my Record '07 stuff...
However, I have not used Campy Record Cassettes for a while. I have been using some KCNC's I got from friends....

These are expensive alternatives to the OEM stuff, think twice if you really need them.

A.

[swoop]

i think ceramic speeds pulley is a nicer one than the fsa.. its feels more solid to me and shifted better on my bike.
it wasn't as plasticy as fsa... but i thought i heard someone say that the bearings themselves were better in fsa.

i think you just have to jump in and make your own conclusions...

atmo, personal and subjective opnion on my end.

[Ahneida Ride]

I suspect the FSA guys may have sent the wrong units (red)
to my LBS. They have not arrived yet. We need the blue ....

Thanks for all the help Swoop ...guys ....

I'll keep you all posted.

My LBS guru also ordered a pair for his own Ottrott .....
so they will be definitely be installed correctly on both bikes ...

This will generate two independent opinions .....
I have a feeling Swoop is right ....

Ya pay ya frns ad ya take ya chances .... :bike:

[swoop]

in terms of the negative.. i'm splitting hairs here. its minor.

[Smiley]

I suspect the FSA guys may have sent the wrong units (red)
to my LBS. They have not arrived yet. We need the blue ....

Thanks for all the help Swoop ...guys ....

I'll keep you all posted.

My LBS guru also ordered a pair for his own Ottrott .....
so they will be definitely be installed correctly on both bikes ...

This will generate two independent opinions .....
I have a feeling Swoop is right ....

Ya pay ya frns ad ya take ya chances .... :bike:
Ride Man , you spent frns which are worthless anyway so I don't see this purchase as a total waste :banana:

[Ahneida Ride]

Ride Man , you spent frns which are worthless anyway so I don't see this purchase as a total waste :banana:

I only wish I could create pulleys just by typing numbers into a computer.

If I could only create tires outa thin air by typing #'s into a computer, my
tires would always be inflated.

Frn hit new low against Icelandic Icepuck.
In 5 years frn went from 1 frn to 1 icepuck to now 0.58 icepuck = 1 frn
over 40% frn devaluation.

Don't you just love frnacation?

[Serotta PETE]

Actually beat Andrew to the wine bar with these..... :beer:


Campy uses bushings, not bearings. I heard that switching out my Campy pulleys for the FSA ceramic will increase my average speed by 5-10 mph. :rolleyes: What do you all think?